CLC Alleges Florida Congressman Aaron Bean Violated Federal “Soft Money” Rules

On August 23, 2023, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Rep. Aaron Bean, his state PAC, and a super PAC backing his 2022 federal candidacy each violated federal campaign finance laws that prohibit raising and spending “soft money”—including money raised by nonfederal committees and organizations that are generally not subject to federal campaign finance laws—in connection with a federal election. The complaint alleges that Bean raised over $2.1 million through “Florida Conservative Alliance,” a state PAC in Florida that he established in 2013 and chaired for nearly nine years, then illegally transferred over $1.1 million from that nonfederal committee to a federal super PAC, Keep Florida Red PAC, which used that money to make over $963,000 in independent expenditures supporting Bean’s 2022 congressional campaign.